NHP launches Super Bowl drunk driving crackdown
Get ready to see more police officers on the roads and in ads for the next two weeks as law enforcement prepares to crack down on drunk driving leading up to the Super Bowl.
The Nevada Office of Traffic Safety and Las Vegas Valley police agencies kicked off the latest Joining Forces Impaired Driving campaign Friday morning.
The grant-funded effort — which connects the Nevada Highway Patrol with police from Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City and Mesquite — features paid commercials and billboards reminding drivers not to drive while impaired and increased drunk-driving checkpoints across the valley.
Increased vigilance will last for two weeks. It started Friday and goes through Feb. 2, the day after Super Bowl Sunday.
Beyond promoting responsible drinking, the goal, NHP spokesman Loy Hixson said, is to reduce traffic fatalities.
“As a state, we’re aggressively looking for ways to prevent the loss of lives due to traffic fatalities,” Hixson said. “These are preventable tragedies.”
Of the 284 fatalities in 2014 on Nevada roadways, 74 involved drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol, Hixson said.
By stepping up checkpoint security during holidays and major events like the Super Bowl, police hope to be present during periods that traditionally feature a greater number of impaired drivers.
Though the Super Bowl celebration in Las Vegas doesn’t draw quite as many as the New Year’s party on the Strip, Hixson said, valley police annually make about 60 to 70 DUI-related arrests during the weekend of the game.
“The Super Bowl, like the holidays, is something that does attract a lot of celebration,” Hixson said, “and we want to get these dangerous drivers off the road.”
The statewide campaign is the the third Joining Forces Impaired Driving campaign focusing specifically on impaired driving since Thanksgiving, and the first campaign of 2015. NHP and local police also team up throughout the year for campaigns focused on seat belt enforcement, pedestrian safety, speeding and distracted driving, using a cell phone, for example.
“The point is to keep these campaigns active and keep motorists aware that they’re out there,” said Traci Pearl, Chief Administrator of the Nevada Joining Forces Program.
In 2015, NHP and local police will team up for six total Joined Forces Impaired Driving campaigns, covering traditionally celebratory holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, Independence Day and Labor Day in addition to Christmas and New Year’s Day. The average campaign lasts from two to three weeks and is funded by a $1.5 million federal grant.
The grant money, according to Pearl, pays overtime hours for law enforcement officials involved in the campaigns.
Contact reporter Chris Kudialis at ckudialis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Find him on Twitter @kudialisrj.
